Costa Rica Weddings:
Plenty of Flash, Easy on Cash!
GUANACASTE, Costa Rica (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
At the Flamingo Beach Resort & Spa, a
popular oceanfront resort on Costa Rica’s
northern Pacific Coast, the brides aren’t
waiting for traditional June weddings.
In the first week of January alone the
resort hosted four lovely sunset ceremonies,
and at least 20 more nuptial celebrations
are in the planning stages for the coming
months. In fact, “destination weddings,” a
trend on the upswing throughout the last
decade, have become even more popular since
the economic downturn, especially in
locations outside the United States where
the dollar often stretches a lot further.
“In Costa Rica, you can have an absolutely
gorgeous, one-of-a-kind, unforgettable
wedding and reception for thousands of
dollars less than the price of a similar
package in the U.S.,” explains Pamela
Rodriguez, owner of the Flamingo Beach
Resort & Spa. “It often becomes a memorable
family vacation as well as a special,
romantic event for the bride and groom.”
Andrea Crosley and Charles Loskarn of Ocean
City, Maryland, celebrated the New Year by
tying the knot at the Flamingo Beach Resort
& Spa after planning the entire affair by
Internet and telephone. Arriving a few days
before the wedding to spend some quality
time with family and close friends, Andrea
said that they were totally thrilled with
their choice of location. “We knew someone
who had had their wedding here last year and
absolutely loved it, so we trusted them,”
Andrea said, explaining that between the
amount of photos on the resort’s website and
the personal attention from the wedding
coordinator, she felt no need to visit the
site in advance. “My fiance is a surfer and
he’s always wanted to spend time in Costa
Rica, so here we are.”
Andrea and Charles opted for a deluxe
wedding package that included all the legal
paperwork, the beach ceremony set-up, the
on-site wedding coordinator, a flowered
wedding arch for the ceremony, flowers for
the bride and groom, a romantic candlelit
dinner for two right on the beach, a
relaxing couples massage, a bottle of
sparkling wine and a wedding cake. Extras
included music and decorations and the
reception for their 33 guests, which
featured signature cocktails, an open bar,
yellow orchids on the tables, a DJ, and a
five-course buffet dinner. The entire
wedding cost the couple around $5,000, not
including accommodations and airfare. Held
on a beautiful, starlit tropical night, the
event was a spectacular success.
The affordability of a destination such as
Costa Rica is the deciding factor for many
couples who choose an offshore wedding. When
compared with the typical 100-guest church
wedding and reception at a banquet hall in
the U.S. costing an average of $25,000 --
which can easily skyrocket to more than
$40-$50,000 in big cities -- plus a few
extra thousand for a honeymoon, it’s easy to
see why. To ease the financial burden, many
couples opt to travel to a place where they
can get married, hold a reception, enjoy a
honeymoon, and still have money left over to
start their new lives together.
Another plus of a destination wedding is
that it’s easier and faster to plan than a
traditional wedding ceremony and reception,
especially because resorts such as the
Flamingo Beach Resort & Spa have full-time
wedding coordinators on staff who are
familiar with the country's legal
requirements and offer complete wedding
packages that take care of all the ceremony
essentials. In the right season, destination
wedding locales can almost guarantee good
weather, and also enable the couple to make
their own rules and begin their own
traditions. If they want to go barefoot,
wear bathing suits or make a grand entrance
on horseback, venues such as The Flamingo
Beach Resort & Spa are more than happy to
help make the couple’s dreams come true!
Complete wedding packages are available at
the Flamingo Beach Resort & Spa starting at
$1,400 and include a complementary Bridal
Suite upgrade for the bride and groom.
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